


Puru-Four Story

by DeaconofSlaanesh



Category: Gundam & Related Fandoms, Gundam ZZ, Universal Century Gundam
Genre: Clones, GachaM, Gen, I call every Ple "Puru"...sue me, Mineva has a REALLY GREAT IDEA, Ple Series, Senpai-Kouhai Relationship, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeaconofSlaanesh/pseuds/DeaconofSlaanesh
Summary: This fic is a translation of "Puru-Four Story" by GachaM. https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=6961916#1GachaM has lots of great Puru artwork, so you should check out his pixiv. https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/433797
Kudos: 8





	1. Puru-Four of Axis

Lights streamed through the jet-black void. This light had allure to its dazzle, and if men were to look upon it they would surely be entertained, but in truth it was a deadly weapon, one that could turn anything to nothing. The enormous accumulated energy in this torrent of heavy metal particles, this “Mega-Particle Cannon”, has stolen countless human lives.

“At your 9! Princess, evade at full speed! Hang in there a little longer, I’ll take the controls!”

“It hurts, my body is heavy…!”

As the fuselage abruptly accelerated, a terrible G-force assaulted the passenger, pinning her body to her seat without care for who she was. She now found herself weighing five times as normal, her vision dimming as blood shrank from her eyeballs.

“I’m, I’m at my limit….”

The girl sitting in the pilot seat of this humanoid war machine known as a “Mobile Suit”, one Mineva Lao Zabi, shivered and moaned.

Mineva was the princess and legitimate heir of the space-colony nation, the “Principality of Zeon”, she who was born in outer space. But this country didn’t exist anymore; it was lost when she was just a suckling babe. Now the only successor of the Zabi family who ruled Zeon, Mineva is under the wing of the “Neo-Zeon” organization based out of the space fortress “Axis”.

Under no circumstances should the princess of such a country be drawn into battle. I, the Neo-Zeon female officer Puru4, sitting next to the princess, desperately continued plugging at the console even as I scolded my own laxity in allowing this sort of thing to happen.

I am a pilot for the Royal Guard, riding with the princess as an escort. I dread each coming second, as the situation continues to deteriorate like one’s altitude when falling off a cliff. Initially, this pilot training had only been an entertainment program for Her Highness Mineva.

Why is this happening! Will I be able to bring her back to Axis in one piece like I’m supposed to? As a Royal Guard bearing the princess’s safety as my duty, to do otherwise would be an unforgivable error.

But I have no time for reflection. Each time the enemy beams are fired, they’re adjusted to improve their accuracy. The princess, an amateur in piloting, will easily be shot down.

“The controls won’t switch!”

I’m trying to fix the program from the side seat, but it just won’t work. I may need to reboot the system. But stopping the Suit in the middle of a battle would be suicide, surely.

At this rate…!

[Puru4 and Qubeley](https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/57672368)

Five days earlier

“Qubeley 04 to Axis Station 6. Returning to Base. Permission for landing clearance.”

“This is Axis Station 6. Qubeley 04, permission to land granted. Use Runway 3.”

“Roger.”

As I caught the space fortress Axis floating on my monitor in front of me, I was once again astonished at the size of the thing. “Axis” was a fortress hewn from an asteroid from in between Mars and Jupiter, in the asteroid belt where the space rocks that couldn’t become planets gathered. The rugged surface shewed the impacts of these asteroids bumping and carving into each other over billions of years; it was truly a display of the abyss of the universe. I’d seen it hundreds of times, but it was so much bigger than the battleships and cruisers sailing nearby, and it was hard to believe that such things could be found in space.

No, I’ve lived in this asteroid since I was born, so it isn’t unbelievable. It’s the water planet behind me that’s really astonishing. Why does it shine so blue? Although from being taught I know that water is abundant there, because I’ve never experienced the planet I don’t truly understand.

Since I was born ten years ago, I, Puru4, have lived my entire life in space.

“Earth…”

Unconsciously I muttered the name of the water planet. But my time to ponder was at an end. Because Axis’s runways were cut through the bedrock, landing there was very difficult. I concentrated on steering, and with my control stick and foot pedals deftly placed my unit on the landing course. My mobile suit, the AMX-004G Mass-Produced Qubeley, dragged a bluish-white flame behind it as it approached Axis.

A Mobile Suit is a humanoid robotic weapon, about 20 meters tall. With the advancement of robotics and the discovery of radar-nullifying “Minovsky Particles”, a battlefield of giant puppets came to emerge. It embodied the theory that “In a battlefield restricted by an inability to use radar to lines of sight, enlarging the soldier to a giant robot and engaging in close combat is effective.” But the smooth wings and curvy body of the MP-Qubeley made it look more like a graceful animal, magnified, than like a humanoid.

“How do you feel about the new model?”

A message suddenly came from my sister the Royal Guard Captain, and I flipped the comm switch in my helmet on.

“Yes. This Mass-Produced Qubeley handles nicely, and the mobility is also high. I think we can say this Suit is done now.”

The MP-Qubeley was made to be the Royal Guards’ main Suit. It’s called the Mass Production Type because it changed the design of the Qubeley, which was never more than a prototype, for the purpose of mass production. It’s close to completion now, with only a few final adjustments left to be done.

“Seems too good to be true. With new models, unexpected problems should be expected.”

“You mean… Are you saying it would be better if I made problems happen on purpose?”

“Yeah, basically. You can’t be a superior pilot without coping with unexpected problems. That’s what makes one first-class.”

A high level of skill is demanded of a Royal Guards pilot, and we must be able to apply our bodies and spirits to any situation. I’ve been flying around Axis for thirty minutes now. Even though this is just a test, since we’re at war, this unit is armed. The Royal Guard must always be ready to show the results of our combat-oriented training.

“First, check the data log.”

“Yes. I’m returning to base.”

“Puru4, we need to talk. I’ve got a little task for you.”

“A task?”

“This is the only way I can tell you.”

“Roger.”

I was interested in what my sister was talking about that she needed to keep secret, but as soon as I had determined to land immediately, I received an emergency message from the station controller.

“Qubeley 04, abort landing!”

“What happened?”

“We have trouble. A Gaza-C broke down! I want to get that guy out of there. It’s burning!”

“Is the pilot safe?!”

“He’s still safe, but his unit’s about to fall apart!”

Turning my neck to look at the back of my panoramic cockpit, I saw one of the Neo-Zeon mass-produced suits that went by the name “AMX-003 ‘Gaza-C’”, half-disassembled and plunging towards me.

[Puru4 and Gaza-C](https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/57672499)

“Puru4, get off the landing course immediately. That Gaza-C is out of control, you’ll get hit!”

My calm sister has some nerve in her voice. At this rate, the two units will collide, entangle each other, and crash in the hangar.

“Qubeley 04, aborting landing.”

I pulsed my MP-Qubeley’s verniers and tilted the control stick to the left, decelerating and turning the unit. As it turned, huge binders attached to both shoulders flapped like wings. This movement of the moment of inertia made it easier for the unit to turn.

The huge rock mass ahead of me soon disappeared from my monitor, and was replaced with the blackness of space. To my front-left, I could see the burning Gaza-C.

The Gaza-C is a simple mobile suit developed from a construction machine, a mass-produced model to expand the power of Axis. It’s fundamentally designed for artillery battle, and its rigidity is low because it’s usually operated while transformed into a turret. It’s said that it’ll fall apart if you sortie in it two or three times.

“Ensign Sebastian, slow down! Slow down!”

I could hear the strain in his shouting. The unit had already begun to collapse. Enlarging the image, I could see that the legs were bent in odd directions and that the entire back half of the suit was gone. The head was in the process of coming off. The cockpit was in the head, so I worried for the pilot.

“Ah!? Escape pod!”

A round escape pod popped from the half-broken Gaza-C head. The spherical cockpit with its panoramic display is also an escape pod, and when the self-diagnosis system judges the unit to be at it’s limit, it automatically ejects the cockpit to protect the pilot. But if you eject in such a condition….

“No! Too fast!”

The escape pod that had ejected without decelerating was clearly overspeed, and at this rate it would crash into the hangar and shatter along with the rest of the suit.

“Evacuate all hands! Once all hands have evacuated, close the bulkhead! It’s going to crash right into us!”

“Puru2, my sister! Please escape!”

“Ah, I’m evacuating the control room right now. You’re landing at another station.”

“Understood.”

I wanted to follow my sister-captain’s orders, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the tragedy happening in front of me. It would be too shameful to let my comrade die and escape myself.

I have to help the pilot.

“No, my sister. Qubeley 04, going to rescue the Gaza-C pilot!”

“What? Stop, Puru4!”

I swiftly accelerated my Qubeley to catch up with the escape pod.

“Goo…!”

I put my whole body into resisting and enduring the rising Gs. To rescue the pilot, I had to reduce the runaway Gaza-C’s acceleration.

“What’s your plan!”

“I’ll use birdlime!”

Once I’d stabilized the MP-Qubeley to run parallel to the escape pod, I fired the birdlime from the base of my Suit’s finger to the front of the escape pod.

Birdlime is a strong and flexible adhesive restoration material used to patch up spacecraft and space colonies. Since opening any hole in a suit can be literally fatal in a vacuum, it’s equipped on most mobile suits to close holes.

Liquid birdlime, released in a vacuum, sheds water and changes into a sticky lump, which now stuck tightly and wrapped around the escape pod.

“Hooray!”

The impact of the collision and the increased weight with the birdlime decelerated the escape pod, just as I planned.

But there was still too much momentum. So I switched to Plan B.

“Funnel!”

As I screamed, a small, remote-controlled beam-turret, a funnel, was ejected from the storage container on the back of my Qubeley.

In this era, substances that interfere with electromagnetic waves, “Minovsky Particles”, are everywhere. Most things like long-distance radios and guided missiles are disabled, but there are still weapons that can be remote-controlled by special brain waves. The funnel was just that.

I hit the funnels, which were originally meant to be beam turrets, against the escape pod. Once the funnels sunk into the lump of birdlime, I fired the verniers at maximum power as brakes. Some funnels broke on impact and scattered themselves across the heavens. Those are expensive weapons, so my sister will scold me later. But I can’t worry about that now.

“The funnels are overloaded!”

It was just as I feared. I’d fired the verniers too hard, and the funnels’ necks were snapping under the strain. I had no choice but to slow down the escape pod with my own unit.

“Will I make it…”

Accelerating to the front of the pod in one burst, I used my mobile suit’s arms to hold the escape pod and the Gaza’s wreckage.

“Wow!”

A wave of terrible jolts hit the cockpit, shaking the seat so much I thought it would come off its base, and I moaned. But as I endured this force, I gripped the control column with all the might I could spare, and barely managed to stabilize the unit. I went on to kick the foot pedal with so much force that it broke, firing all the vernier thrusters. The nuclear fusion engine roared, and fuel and oxidizer rushed from the propellant tanks to the combustion chamber, where they were ignited by a laser to produce tremendous force and spray hot, high-pressure gases.

However, the rock mass of Axis was rapidly approaching behind me, and I would definitely crash into the hangar in a few seconds.

“Deploying emergency net!”

As I closed my eyes to endure the deceleration Gs, my sister’s voice echoed in my ear. The emergency net was made to catch and forcibly stop any landing aircraft that couldn’t decelerate. But even with the net, this landing was dangerous. I was too heavy, too fast, and was holding an escape pod.

In my mind’s eye, I saw a great explosion in the hangar.

“All hands evacuate from the hangar!”

The alert buzzer buzzed, and through my communication device I could hear the confused pattering of the hangar’s mechanics and workers evacuating to the other side of the bulkhead. They were imagining the same thing as I was. But I did not intend to die from this explosion.

“Emergency purge!”

I opened the yellow-black transparent cover next to the console, and struck the red switch within. There was no time to shut off the reactor and cut off the power. There was a danger that I would explode, but it was more likely that I would crash into the hangar.

A few seconds after I pushed the button, the MP-Qubeley’s shoulder binders, the funnel container on the back, and the whole lower half of the body were cut loose at once with gunpowder charges. The Qubeley-type uses a modular construction, so each part has an independent structure. Which means I can move the top half on its own.

The detached pieces spun off into Axis’s rock surface, where they broke into tiny bits.

That will not be my fate.

The top half of the MP-Qubeley plunged into the hangar. With the weight halved, the impact when I crashed would be less. At least, that’s what I hoped.

Dogan! The Suit made a terrible noise as it burst through the emergency net that had been deployed and skidded down the runway. There was nothing left I could do, so I focused on keeping the escape pod from being crushed. Seconds stretched to minutes as my unit laid sparks down the runway. It’s said that when one’s life was in danger, their memories up to that point would flash before their eyes. I was surprised that mine didn’t; I guess I hadn’t lived long enough yet.

At last, I violently crashed into the bulkhead at the far end of the hangar.

“Ki-yaaaa!”

With this crash, I screamed not at all like a soldier.

The MP-Qubeley bounced so violently that I thought it might fall apart. The outer shell was crumpled and smashed flat, until one couldn’t tell whether it was a Qubeley or a Gallus-J. After much rolling, my unit finally came to a halt against a maintenance vehicle.

When I regained consciousness, I was relieved to still be of this world.

“I’m alive…?”

Smoke fumed from every component, and the monitor told me all the innumerable things wrong with my unit in flashing lights. Perhaps this mobile suit was in a terrible state. But I had protected the escape pod and landed safely.

Immediately after my unit stopped, firefighters’ electric cars emerged and sprayed neohalon extinguishing agent all over. Since there is still fuel left, the neohalon was needed to cut off the oxygen to the chemical reactions. When the top half of the MP-Qubeley was filled of extinguisher and the fear of a fire disappeared, after an instant of silence, the controller and the workers erupted into cheers and applause.

“Splendid!” “What piloting!”

I’ve always thought of myself as a modest individual, but there I felt great pride at my abilities. But even though I wanted to respond, my strength had left me. After a few minutes’ stupor, I got a message from my sister.

“Are you safe?”

“Yes, my sister.”

“You violated my orders, Puru4. Your machine’s a total loss. I’ll have to dispose of it.”

“…”

My heart sunk at these words. Sure I violated orders, but I saved that Gaza-C pilot who would have died otherwise! And yet my actions were being criticized like I was just some maverick. My eyes began to moisten.

“But, well done. Your skills have improved.”

“My big sister!”

My sister is harsh, but I do appreciate her efforts. Her praise made me so happy, I couldn’t help but cry.


	2. The Princess's Request

“What’s with this call from the princess, Puru2 my sister?”

“Well. They wouldn’t tell me. This is unprecedented.”

“There are things you don’t know?”

“Of course.”

The shattered pieces of my Qubeley on the hangar floor hadn’t even stopped rocking yet, but I and my sister already were rushing straight to the Royal Palace.

Of course I wanted to help recover my destroyed MP-Qubeley, but here at Neo-Zeon, when another task is deemed as a priority, we must drop everything to carry it out. And this, this was the bequest of Her Highness Princess Mineva Lao Zabi herself.

To appear before the Princess, I changed from my normal suit into a military uniform, but I couldn’t help but feel that I must have mussed something up from my hurried donning. I can never get my sidetails to stop curling up, and I could feel them bouncing out of shape with every step.

At any rate, we didn’t quite understand why us, the officers of the Royal Guard, had been called. The Royal Guard is an elite force that exists to protect the Zabi family and their intimate relations. However, even for such elites, it is uncommon to be directly ordered by the princess. She wouldn’t have called us just to make us listen to that violin of hers. …Or would she?

I guess I’m just thinking up these sorts of silly situations to relax.

“Puru2, my sister. Has anything serious happened to Axis?”

“If that was the case, I’m sure I would have been told right away.”

“What if there’s an emergency but you just haven’t been told yet?”

“Impossible. Puru4, you’ll have to be on your best manners soon, so would you be careful? I sense your heart is anxious. Well, wouldn’t it be natural after that accident?”

“I’m sorry…”

My sister’s eyes can’t be deceived. That was the first accident that big I’d experienced in my life, and it wasn’t out of my head yet. As a soldier, it’s very embarrassing to find that others can see my anxieties and frustrations.

As I looked up to take a deep breath, the clear, stretching, blue sky eased my tensions. But at a closer look, I realized that it was just a projection on the rock surface. It was an intentional illusion of nature, this being an artificial city on an asteroid floating in space.

It was the year 0088 of the Universal Century. Once, the space colony nation of Zeon had fought a war of independence against the Earth Federation government. The remnants, organized around Neo-Zeon, the Zabi successor Mineva Lao Zabi, and the space fortress Axis, aimed for the autonomy of the space immigrants called Spacenoids. The Earth Federation defeated the Principality of Zeon, but there were still many Zabi loyalists and Zeon supporters among the Spacenoids in their colonies. With this support, Neo Zeon continued their war of independence.

However, this was never an easy war. For the last several months, Neo Zeon has been in a stalemate with the Earth Federation and the “AEUG” paramilitary derived from their army. Fearing the exhaustion of their forces, both sides shirk from initiating a decisive offensive.

So, when Neo Zeon received intelligence that the Earth Federation’s main fleet was massing on the moon, a commotion spread through Axis. If that really was so, then the final battle was near, and it would be here, on Axis.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve met Mineva. If I remember correctly, we had an audience when the Guard was formed.”

Perhaps to calm me down, Puru2 reminded me that this wasn’t the first time I’d been in the royal palace.

“Yes. The princess seemed very clever.”

“Right. Haman’s special teaching must be good.”

“Haman spoke to me back then. When she asked me to prepare to be a guard, I thought my heart would stop.”

I swear, those cold eyes could see to someone’s heart. Just recalling them put butterflies in my stomach.

“It’s natural. That pressure isn’t a normal person’s. Haman is a person who won’t allow any feelings from anyone, that’s for sure.”

“Are you sure it’s not an act? A signal of a sort of purity as the leader of the nation…”

“Should you be saying that in public?”

“I know. If anyone asks, I was never here today.”

“How could that be? At times like these, isn’t it the duty of an officer to eliminate dissent in the ranks?”

“My sister! Please don’t threaten me.”

“You have to get used to bargaining. After all, even mobile suit battles are really just bargains with the enemy.”

“Bargaining…”

I thought about what my sister had said. Certainly, I tend to take things too much as they are. My sister has always warned me about that. But inexperienced as I am, I have to be humble as I learn. If I put my own slant on things, I’ll become unable to see things how they actually are. So as I put a clip in the back of my hair and rearranged my sidetails, I argued with my sister in my head.

I always think my orange hair is too conspicuous for a soldier. But the captain of the guard is my sister Puru2, who has the same hair color. With the exception of her hairstyle, which is a bit shorter than mine, my sister looks exactly like me. Hair color, eye color, face, voice, all the same.

There is a reason my sister so resembles me. I am a cyber-newtype born with genetic engineering, a result of the “Puru Series” plan to create superior soldiers through cloning and genetic enhancement. This is the highest secret of Neo Zeon.

What makes something a secret? Unconsciously I shook my head. I don’t think I deserve to be that confidential. Although Cyber-Newtypes have great mental and physical abilities, we are not otherwise different from ordinary people, and we have similar problems to any girl of our age.

ZOOOOOOM.

“!”

Suddenly there came a roaring noise, as mobile suits flew over us in formation. Axis isn’t as big as a space colony, but there is still room for mobile suits to maneuver inside. They looked like they were using the residential block to do training under gravity.

“That’s the ‘Ga-Zowmn’.”

“Ah, yes it is.”

“What the hell is ‘Zowmn’ supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know. I can’t keep up with the wordplays of those bums whose only job is to name things.”

“But, why is that unit still being produced? It’s not compatible with the other units, so it would be better to just make more Dreissens….”

“Apparently it’s useful as an anti-ship bomber. EF and AEUG battleships are so tough that attacking them is usually a kamikaze mission otherwise.”

“That’s really scary.”

Closing in on a battleship with a mobile suit is a great fear of mine. In the early days of the One Year War, mobile suits apparently took on battleships. But from my simulator experience, I shudder at recalling the hedgehog-like anti-MS beams on the AEUG ships. If I never have to undertake a lone charge against a battleship I’ll be all the better for it.

“Puru2 my sister, today’s mission.”

“I told you I don’t know?”

“Yes. However, do you think it’s possible that you were called directly by the princess, that is instead of through Lady Haman?”

“It could well be. If it is, I don’t really want to go along with it. Offending Haman would be bad for Glemy.”

“I agree.”

“But I guess we can’t ignore it either?”

“Yes.”

Lady Haman Karn assists the still very young princess, and administers Axis’s military and government. She is a heroine who flies a mobile suit and commands the front lines even as she conducts politics and diplomacy. It would be bad to speak with the princess without going through her first, mostly because we report directly to an officer named Glemy Toto.

Master Glemy is an ambitious man who obeys Lady Haman publicly, but it’s become an open secret that he privately plans to usurp her power. Rumor has it that he inherited the blood of the oldest Zabi brother, Gihren Zabi. Princess Mineva is the daughter of the Zabis’ third son, Prince Dozle. If the Zabis really have a living adult male heir, then a succession conflict is inevitable. If the Royal Guards were to obey the Princess over Haman, then it would not be an exaggeration to say that it would be taken as an act of rebellion. Politics is such a hassle. Axis can be depicted as a seesaw, with Haman and Glemy squatting on both sides, and Mineva as a fragile fulcrum on top of whom a precarious balance lies.

“It depends on what Mineva wants us to do. For example, suppose she wants us to bring her Captain Char?”

“Lady Haman would be furious! Good joke.”

I didn’t intend to tell a joke, so I was a little offended. My sister Puru2 was so strong and talented that she had a habit of taking things too lightly.

The Royal Palace, home to royalty and bureaucrats, was located in the center of Axis.

These extravagant buildings which could be mistaken for castles, and the dressed-up soldiers guarding them, made me feel that I had been sent back to the Middle Ages. The so-called “Zeon Style” architecture takes much from the bygone centuries.

When you walk in the main gate and step foot on the site, a giant fountain is the first thing that comes to the eye. Going further, well-groomed shrubs in a geometrical design form a beautiful French garden. At the back, a magnificent brick-colored palace looms, and you can see that the entire rest of the site only exists to complement it.

I can’t imagine how much money one would have to spend to build such a building.

“Hmm, what a great building. We should have just built more mobile suits, don’t you think?”

I got the feeling that Puru2 had greater concern for a mobile suit’s disposable propellant tank than for this building.

“Yeah. To rule the earth we must adopt their culture, I can understand that, but don’t you think we need to recognize reality?”

“Everyone always says us Neo Zeon have a lot of spirit. We can’t beat the EFF without being more rational. Our resources are finite.”

I think taking the past era’s culture into the Universal Century is a manifestation of Spacenoids’ desire to return to the Earth. Or this old building might just be a simulation for ruling the Earth. But that’s how it seems. Without understanding Earth culture, how can we keep ourselves going? The old Mongols subjugated Europe with their military might as nomads, but their reign did not last very long.

I imagined the size of the Earth I had never landed on.

(Earth huh… I’d like to go there one time. It must be so different to this cramped artificial space.)

Towering mountains, vast forests, and oceans filled to the brim with salt water. In the end, while space colonies and asteroids imitate the earth, imitations can only be imitations. Axis culture is an imitation. And the Cyber-Newtypes Axis has created are just imitations of Newtypes.

As I was thinking this, I swiftly became very embarrassed.

No. I can’t be this faint of heart when I fight the EFF. The decisive battle is coming, after all.

“My sister, I don’t understand something.”

“Another question?”

“Yes. Why aren’t the Earth Federation forces attacking Axis all at once? Their main mobile fleet is supposed to be concentrated on the moon, and the AEUG remnant fleet attacked alone. Now that they’re repelled, that ‘Nahel Argama’ ship is moving on its own, which I just can’t understand.”

“That’s easy. There is no one in command of the Earth Federation forces.”

My sister chuckled as she analyzed our foes’ bureaucratic structure.

“The war is in a stalemate now. Because Lady Haman conquered the Earth’s resources and industry, the Earth Federation Forces have good reason to attack us now rather than later. But storming a fortress is a very difficult thing. You must be ready to make an appropriate sacrifice.”

“I know the defense has the advantage.”

“Correct. A little while ago, the Earth Federation hornswoggled the AEUG into attacking Axis, so they could probe our defenses without using their own fleets. Of course they would have used the Colony Laser if it still existed, but the AEUG had already destroyed that. We have the budget to build and repair our kit. I don’t think the Earth Federation government gives its forces enough for that.”

“So that’s why Lady Haman went down to Earth and worked with their Assembly?”

“Correct. She tried to get those EF government bums comfortable so that she could offer them a peace treaty. But she failed because of that Argama gang.”

Lady Haman had brought Mineva and her fleet down to the Earth to discuss with high officials of the Earth Federation. They spent a lot of money, held grand ceremonies and parades, and talked with the Earth Federation government on friendly terms. But because of the warlike AEUG’s intervention, the negotiations ended in debacle.

“And all because I wasn’t able to kill those guys.”

I noticed my sister’s face suddenly darkening.

“It’s not your fault, my sister.”

“It was a terrible fight…”

I stayed silent, feeling that my sister didn’t want to talk with me. I couldn’t even fathom how she felt.

“Anyway, both sides are now asking how to approach each other. You and the others have to train, while we still have time. After all, you’re still inexperienced.”

“Yes, I understand.”

But I still had one worry. That is, Neo Zeon’s internal situation. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked my sister so many questions, but because she’s usually so busy as the commander of the Royal Guard, there aren’t many opportunities to ask her questions in person.

“But I worry about some things.”

“Because you were born worrying?”

“That I was, but the relationship between Master Glemy and Lady Haman does seem to be breaking down. That’s not good for Neo Zeon. If the vanguard of us spacenoids is disunited…”

I confided my worries to my sister. If the two couldn’t work together, it would invite a rebellion. We could exhaust ourselves in internal struggles and get defeated by the EF forces before we knew it, just like the One Year War.

“Puru4. You can’t worry yourself about this sort of thing.”

“Is that so?”

“A good soldier only needs to faithfully execute their orders. When the common soldiers start advocating their own self-important causes about politics or ideals or such, their discontent just gets exploited by the bad guys. Stop it.”

“…Yes.”

I didn’t agree with that answer, but I think my sister is amazing for being able to speak her mind so clearly. At only 10, she’s already gained the respect of Axis’s top figures. However, it’s very unfortunate for me, because as her clone and little sister, the same behavior is expected of me. Although we’re clones, we have different individual characters, and our abilities are different too. That’s what the leaders just won’t understand.

For me, the pressure was depressing.

While we were talking, we finally reached the front of the Royal Palace. It was time for our audience with the princess.

Going through the great gate into the Royal Palace, we passed through the reception room to the hallway that led to Princess Mineva’s room. The hall’s ceiling was high, and soft light from the windows allowed shadows to droop from the expensive furniture. In this replica building, tradition and formality were respected. In order to control people, there must be a foundation to our hearts.

Walking further, I saw a particularly large and opulent door. 

“Puru2, ma’am!”

The guards greeted us with a salute.

“Thank you. We’ve been called by Princess Mineva. Get the door, please.”

“Roger that.”

The guards touched their console, and a moment later the door leisurely opened.

I was a bit nervous as I trod into that room. The Royal Guard are rarely able to go into this room.

“Puru2, Puru4, calling in.”

On the throne greatly oversized for a child equipped in the front sat Princess Mineva Zabi. Though this girl was only some nine years old, she had a dignified charisma that attracted people to her.

“I thank you for your work, and apologize for being busy.”

The princess set down her cup of black tea on the side table and thanked her subjects.

“This body is your possession. Please tell me what it is that troubles you.”

“I’m pleased you would say that.” The princess’s countenance softened at my sister Puru2’s sincere words. “This is a secret even to Lady Haman.”

“Even to Lady Haman?”

I knew this would happen.

At these words, I exchanged glances with my sister. Since our faces are exactly the same, it was like looking at a confused mirror.

“I hear the two of you are ace pilots of our country.”

“Oh, that appraisal gives us too much credit.”

“You don’t need to be humble. Although you are not much older than I, you are indeed worthy of praise.”

“Hahah…”

Praise from Princess Mineva ought to be welcomed, but I couldn’t help but thinking that I’m about to be asked to do something difficult.

“Now, I have a request to trust to you.”

Now I really worried. If I could say what was on my mind, I would be reprimanded for impoliteness. A vassal is supposed to relish the privilege of answering their princess’s requests.

But I have a bad premonition.

“Please use the Royal Guard however you’d like.”

“Um. My request is for you to teach me how to pilot a mobile suit, nothing else.”

“To, to pilot a mobile suit?!”

“Puru4, your voice is loud.”

“I’m sorry…”

I regretted having unconsciously raised my voice. I was in the presence of the princess. I had to be careful not to be polite.

But a princess and a mobile suit? It’s a cursed combination. At the same time, it was a bit of a let-down. I was sure it was going to be some sort of secret mission.

“Princess Mineva. With all due respect, would it be so bad to let us hear your reason?”

My sister looked a bit confused. I think I can only see these little disturbances on her because I’m her little sister.

“Um. Everyone is struggling in all these battles. I can’t just go on doing nothing but warming this chair. I must show how a woman of the Zabi household can fight. So I’ve considered piloting a mobile suit. I hear my father, Dozle, also went out to fight on the battlefield.”

When Princess Mineva’s father, Prince Dozle, was fighting in the War of Independence, during the battle of Solomon, he had fought in the massive mobile armor called “Big Zam”, and had died a hero’s death.

“Your idea is most wise. You have impressed this Puru2.”

Puru2 responded obediently and respectfully.

I hope that’s not what she really thinks.

“…But, I’m honestly surprised.”

“Miss Puru2. Mineva knows a lot about mobile suits,” said an attendant as she stepped forward. “With only a glance, she can guess all of their names.”

The princess blushed a little from the praise. This sort of honest emotion is cute, I think.

Another attendant pressed a remote control to display an image on a wall panel. Judging from the title, “Latest Mobile Suit Catalog”, it was probably a catalog of mobile suits.

“Miss Mineva, be ready.”

“Yes. You can start now.”

As the attendant flipped a switch, the video immediately began to play. Mobile suits of various strengths, from the Principality of Zeon, Neo Zeon, the Earth Federation, the AEUG, and the Titans, appeared on the screen in CGI, shooting their beam rifles, waving their beam sabers, or performing similar actions.

“This is a Zaku. And this is a Gouf.”

The princess’s names for the mobile suits were exactly correct.

“Dom, Zock, Grelloog… no, it’s Gelgoog.”

She was identifying the mobile suits one by one, from only a quick glance at the silhouette. Definitely knowledgeable. But these were still only basic-level.

“Acguy. And this is… Juagg?”

“Correct, Princess Mineva.”

The questions were gradually moving to more obscure suits. Perhaps my imagination isn’t strong enough, but with those bug eyes, proboscis nose, and generally bizarre design, it’s hard to believe that that design actually made it to the front lines.

Nevertheless, I was astonished that such a ladylike princess had such a knowledge of arms.

“This is the AEUG’s Zeta Gundam. Ah! The gold one is easy. Isn’t that the Hyaku Shiki? Char’s mobile suit.”

They were going to the new model suits from the Gryps Conflict.

“Jupitris’s Bolinoak Sammahn. And this is the AEUG’s amphibious suit, the Methuss Mariner.”

“It’s over. Great job, Mineva! Perfect score!

The princess knew the names of suits that are obscure even among experts. Seeing this talent demonstrated to me, even if some favoritism towards the princess was involved, I was honestly surprised.

“I’m speechless. I greatly admire you, Princess Mineva.”

My sister seemed just as impressed.

“I’m always studying with mobile suit books. I’m not just playing the violin now, am I?

The princess boasted.

Still, I doubted. Knowledge alone is inadequate to pilot a mobile suit. A natural technique and taste are needed.

“It’s not just this. Mineva does well in mobile suit simulators too.”

“You’ve put so much effort in…”

Puru2 was even more astonished.

Princess Mineva’s normally-timid face now radiated self-confidence.  
“Let’s show them. The Princess of Zeon’s mobile suit piloting technique!”


	3. Sisters

“What’s with that electric car? Is it moving unmanned?”

As soon as my sister Puru2 and I were done with the princess and had left the grounds of the Royal Palace, we saw an electric car with no one in it coming from the other side of the road. My sister voiced her doubt at this unnatural scene.

“An unmanned vehicle should not be practicable…”

“But there isn’t anyone in the driver’s seat, is there?”

“It might turn out to be a test. I’ll ask the Neo Zeon Engineering Headquarters later.”

“I must thank you. But, do you suppose mobile suits might eventually be unmanned?

If unmanned mobile suits are ever realized, us pilots will either lose our jobs, or become partners to inscrutable AIs. Moreover, since drones don’t need humans to be inside them, it’s possible for them to be very mobile. A normal person can take 9 Gs, and even cyber-newtypes like us can only bear up to 12 Gs.

“It could be possible. Even Neo Zeon is studying it. The Earth Federation’s mobile suits have especially advanced AIs and training programs, and if they increased their processing power, a fully autonomous mobile suit might become feasible.”

“A sapient mobile suit? Makes sense, the AEUG is full of scrubs! But it’s quite abnormal for a veteran pilot to be simply shot down by an amateur. If a Feddie mobile suit locked on and pulled the trigger, would they be able to easily hit their target?”

Puru2, half-disgusted, said, “I don’t think they have that sort of performance at this point…. But I suppose it will happen sooner or later.”

In this war, the pilot-starved AEUG has recruited a lot of amateurs, whom they send to the front lines with only cursory training. That these semi-disposable soldiers actually seem to be giving their masters some military gains is alarming, even to us Puru series, who are essentially child soldiers. To a person of earlier generations, I think it would be seen as an inhumane act to recruit young children into a military. But with the great war eight years ago having killed half the world’s total population, amateurs and children at work are a common sight.

Perhaps us clones are from an experiment to artificially increase the labor force? That’s what I think.

“Oi, drone car, come over here.”

As I watched, the electric car pulled right up and braked in front of me. I readied myself for it to move further, but this time it just flashed its lights at me. Was it trying to greet me? While I was thinking on those lines, the car suddenly began talking, much to my surprise.

“Puru2, Puru4, my sisters!”

The face that suddenly emerged from the window of the electric car was that of my eleventh sister, Puru11. I understood now. Eleven is short, so when she sits in the driver’s seat and holds the steering wheel, she’s completely invisible from the outside. Nevertheless, she can stilldrive skillfully like that.

“What is it, Puru11? We couldn’t see you, so we thought you were a drone car!”

“Excuse me for not being a giraffe like you two!” Eleven pouted and puffed her cheeks. “I heard that you two were secretly called by the princess, and I got worried.”

Eleven’s twintails shook as she talked. She wore two barrettes: small, occasionally flickering, brainwave receivers.

“How can you drive a car if you can’t look at the road?”

I asked because I was concerned about the electric car’s mechanism. I didn’t think it was autopilot anymore.

“This car is equipped with a prototype small-sized psycommu, Puru4.”

“A psycommu?”

“Yeah. It was just completed yesterday, and I’ve been borrowing it for a while for testing. Also to practice my brainwave control. Since the car’s structure is a lot simpler than a mobile suit’s, the control program was easy to make.”

“The psycommu components are in the rear, right?”

Opening the rear hatch, a piece of hardware with tiny lights and circuits stuck close together appeared. It was shaped like a cube, and some lights on the surface were flashing.

“They showed this prototype to me at the engineering HQ. I was going to tell you eventually.”

“About how big is it?”

My big sister asked, clearly interested. The specs of a new model psycommu is something anyone with Newtype abilities would want to keep themselves up to date on. And she’s also the leader of the Newtype unit.

“The technological development of psycommus is amazing. It’s still in the design stage, but the newest model psycommu will fit in a palm.”

“That’s wonderful! It used to be only able to fit on mobile armors! They’ll be microscopic eventually, right?

“I think it’s completely possible.”

“If they could put psycommus on movable frame actuators, I think reaction time would improve quite a lot. No, not only that. For example, if they picked up a brainwave and sent it directly to the control interface…”

“It would be possible to operate a mobile suit through thought alone?”

“Yes! You’d have a tremendously effective mobile suit!”

Puru2 talked excitedly. It seemed like too advanced an idea for our time, but it was definitely theoretically possible. I want to try to develop a unit like that one day. The technology is interesting, and a high performance mobile suit would let me protect my sisters.

“I’ll tell engineering HQ about your idea. Maybe they’ll be inspired.”

“They can use my Qubeley as a testbed. Will you ask them?”

“I understand. They’ll have to put in some movable frame, but I think it can be done.”

“Good. And Eleven, that brings me to the reason I and Puru4 were called by Mineva…”

Puru2 had to awkwardly backtrack a little. It was rather unusual for my sister, who always talks so straight-forwardly.

“This is entirely Mineva’s problem. She has a sheltered upbringing.”

“And, you were saying?”

“This mustn’t escape here. Mineva wants to pilot a mobile suit.”

“…You’re joking!”

Eleven’s eyes opened wide.

“Mineva admires Lady Haman and the late Prince Dozle.”

“But just because they piloted mobile suits and stuff…”

“I mean, weren’t we piloting mobile suits at Mineva’s age? It’s not completely ridiculous.”

Although she explained this to Eleven, I don’t think she was convinced herself.

“But we’re cyber-newtypes. We were born to do that.”

“Sure, but piloting a mobile suit doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with new type abilities. For example, athletes show talent from an early age. Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not you have talent.”

“Puru2 my sister. I don’t think the princess’s reflexes are very good…”

As Eleven said, Mineva’s hobbies were painting and the violin, and her life had been rather sheltered.

“I think so too. However. When she talked about how she wanted to be useful to the army, and become strong like her father was, and other laudable things, I can only say that my heart was moved.”

“I heard that the princess’s father, Prince Dozle, died in battle.”

“Correct. I think knowing about that episode, as well as Lady Haman’s influence, is why she wants to pilot a mobile suit… I think.”

“Isn’t a princess supposed to be kept safe?”

“In order for her to govern the world, her mental and physical capabilities must be strengthened. In that sense, trying to get some experience in mobile suit piloting shouldn’t be that bad.”

Puru2 looked to the Zabi family portraits on the front of the wall as she spoke.

King Degwin, Supreme Commander Gihren, Rear Admiral Kycilia, Vice Admiral Dozle, Colonel Garma…. It was ominous that all members of the Zabi family had died in battle.

For a short while, the sisters were silent.

“In that case, I guess it would be good for her to pilot a ReGelgu.”

I made my suggestion to drive away the dark atmosphere.

“A ReGelgu?”

“Yes.”

The MS-14J “ReGelgu” is an improved version of the masterpiece mobile suit from the first Zeon independence war, the MS-14A “Gelgoog”. Its name comes from “Refined Gelgoog”. It’s not at all like the units that were originally pulled out of the warehouses; with the addition of large shoulder binders based on the Qubeley’s and improved armor, mobility has been substantially improved. It’s recognized as a high-performance, yet easy to handle, unit.

“That’s right. It’s easy to control, so it’s perfect for a beginner.”

The Regelgu is also used as a trainer, so pilot trainees are very familiar with it. Naturally, I’ve flown it many times.

“Hm, you aren’t saying that seriously, Puru4?”

“Eh…?”

“Imagine putting the princess of Zeon on such an old-fashioned unit! Besides, I believe Mineva has already specified what unit she wants.”

“Really?! Puru2, my sister, are you being serious?”

“Yes, it will be a Qubeley.”

A brilliant shining machine pierced the darkness.

Like a butterfly’s wings, its shoulders were, because on these shoulders were installed the attitude control equipment called binders. The butterfly’s wings flapped, and this “Qubeley” ran through outer space. The Qubeley was beautiful and magnificent, and it ruled the battlefield like a goddess of war. And sitting in the cockpit, operating the craft like her own limbs, was the lovely maiden Mineva Lao Zabi.

This maiden Mineva, distinguishable by her curly rolled bangs and serene emerald eyes, was at 9 still very young, but the sharp glint in her eye evinced a great charisma. Her charisma was further brought out by her outfit, as she was not clad in the normal suits that pilots usually wore. She had the utmost confidence that she would return alive from the battlefield.

“Ei! You dare approach me! Go forth, Funnels!”

With that shout from Mineva, several small beam turrets popped out of containers mounted on the back of the mobile suit. 

The unmanned beam turrets, officially called “Funnel Bits”, could be operated remotely via brainwave-to-machine-language converters called psyco communicators, or psycommu for short. Only those exceptional humans known as Newtypes or Cyber-Newtypes could operate them.

With psychic abilities frankly beyond human understanding, they accurately discern their surroundings and operate brainwave-controlled devices. Only Newtypes and Cyber-Newtypes can enjoy the mighty offensive abilities of the funnel. The Qubeley is a high-spec mobile suit specifically made in order to use funnels.

The Zeon princess Mineva Zabi, manipulating this outstanding craft like her own limbs, was dominating the battlefield with her overwhelming offensive ability.

“Don’t underestimate this Qubeley!”

“Puru Two, my sister. What is this video?”

Eleven, visibly bored watching the conference room monitor, yawned as she asked.

I myself had only staved off sleep by impolitely leaving halfway through the video and cooking up some snacks, which I had brought back with me. Placing the trays of burgers and drinks in front of Puru2 and Eleven, I reseated myself.

At that time, the three of us were having a meeting to watch the video file the princess gave us.

“This footage is of Princess Mineva’s battlefield exploits. I think it was made with CGI. Well done, isn’t it?”

Puru2 pressed a button as she spoke, and the princess’s screaming voice, the sound effects, and the grandiose music muted.

“I’m not complaining but…. It’s so bombastic that it’s a bit hard to watch. There are also a lot of errors.”

“You’re not complaining, Eleven? This scenario was Mineva’s idea. According to the scenario, she had to be very useful.”

“I see. Propaganda, huh?”

“No, far from it. This is how she actually wants to be as a pilot.”

“…I’m speechless.”

“I have my doubts, but these are Mineva’s direct orders. So we must somehow… Bleh! What sewer is this from!

Puru2 took a sip of the drink that I had specially made for her, and spit it right back out.

“Ah, excuse me. Was it not very tasty?”

I feared the drink I had made was turning out to be unpopular. I glanced at Eleven, who was continuing to drink with a blank expression on her face. It didn’t look like she’d reached a judgement yet.

“To be honest, it’s terrible! What in Earth Sphere did you make it from?”

“I mixed soy milk and kinako. It’s seasoned with salt and cinnamon.”

“Kinako?”

“It’s an East Asian ingredient, a soybean flour. Soy is good for beauty.”

“I see, oriental. No wonder the name’s so weird. It doesn’t feel very good on the tongue? But if it’s good for the body…”

“It is! Take a bite of this veggie burger. The yogurt sauce is really refreshing.”

My older sister cautiously filled her mouth with burger.

“Yeah, it’s not bad. It is healthy. But I think it’s a little weak. We’re young, and we want to eat meat and things.”

“You’re saying there isn’t enough protein? If that’s the case, next time I’ll make fish.”

“Fish…”

“Do you hate fish?”

“It’s not that I hate it.”

My sister and I have different tastes in meals, but even so, my sisters’ health is my top priority. I made this menu in consultation with Three.

“Between this health-‘food’ and that ‘movie’, I’m about to collapse.”

“In that case, let’s quickly wrap this meeting up.”

“Yes. First, we need a unit for Mineva to train on. So Puru4, your Qubeley…”

“I’m sorry, but I refuse.”

I bowed my head and immediately responded.

“Just for a little.”

“I just broke it. Although I only just got to receive my long-awaited new unit, it got broken right away… No! Besides, my Qubeley is a mass-production model. You wouldn’t want to give the princess something like that. Puru2, sister, aren’t you going to get your new-model Queen Mansa soon? You won’t need your Qubeley then.”

“It won’t be useless? I plan to keep it as a spare unit.”

“Axis doesn’t grow mobile suits on trees, such a waste won’t be allowed.”

“Tell me. Ah, I just remembered… There should definitely be a spare Qubeley Mk-II in the warehouse. We can use that.”

Puru2 snapped her fingers and spoke.

“Puru2, my sister. That one was broken down for spare parts.”

“What? Are you sure, Eleven?”

“Yes.”

“Then… What a bummer.”

Seeing my big sister bury her face in her hands, I decided I had to do something. Since I had refused to lend her my unit, I needed to take responsibility.

“It’s OK, Puru2, my sister. Give me three days, and I’ll have the disassembled unit like it just came out of the factory.”

“Three days? Can you do it?”

“I can.”

I was confident. I participated in the development of the “Qubeley G-Type”, the Guards’ own suit, as the Royal Guards representative, but while I was stationed in and out of the Neo Zeon arsenal, I became very familiar with mobile suits’ designs and mechanisms. Cyber-Newtypes’ learning ability allows us to gain the knowledge and insight of an expert in only a short time.

“You always were good at repairing mobile suits. I expect much out of you.”

“Yes!”

“But if you’re so good at repairs, then why can’t you give your own suit?”

“…Well my beloved sister, there’s so much to do, bye now.”

I pretended not to hear my big sister, stood up, cleaned up the meals, and swiftly fled the room.

“Eleven?”

“I also… don’t want to.”

“Hmmph. Hell, thou art ten little sisters.”

-Puru Eleven Design Draft


	4. Sisters' Love Blooming in the Bathroom

A bath after a tough task is an exceptional thing. Every day, us Royal Guards go to the base bathhouse and wash off our sweat. There’s nothing better than sinking into the jacuzzi and relaxing; without this luxury our tough training and duties would have overwhelmed us long ago. Personally, my favorite part is the soft touch of the bubbles on my skin.

“I have to stay in the barracks again? Bo-ring.”

Puru9 splashed up some hot water as she voiced her dissatisfaction.

“Sorry Nine. I’m busy with work… Single-person MS drills.”

“I’m fed up.”

“So, are we all going to play downtown next time?”

“If we do, I want to go to a concert.”

“A concert?”

“Yeah, I wanna see Hanyaan.”

“Eh?! What’s that? Haman? Lady Haman does concerts?”

“No, ‘Hanyaan’. She’s a virtual idol. Don’t you know about her, big sis?

“I didn’t know… Did you, Eleven?”

I asked because I can’t imagine how they were able to name an idol so similarly to the Prime Minister.

“Yes, I’m aware of her. She’s an AI-synthesized “Mobiroid” character.”

“AI… How do they do that with home computers?”

“I think they’re accessing a cloud server. There is not much of a Minovsky effect inside Axis, after all.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Mobiroids, as the name suggests, is a software spun off from Mobile Suit control systems. Because the characters’ personality and voice parameters can be customized according to conversations they have with the user, it births all sorts of virtual characters. The character called ‘Hanyaan’ is a software icon. It’s very good for marketing products.”  
Eleven explained how the mobiroids came about, and with her explaining I understood now.

“They’re cute. She’s got a hairstyle like Eleven’s but purple, have you seen her Four?”

“Now that you say it… I think I might have.”

“Oh, yes. This is her.”

Nine picked out a Hanyaan doll, one of the many toys floating in the bath.

“Oh, isn’t it cute.”

As I picked it up, I saw a super-deformed character with purple twintails, a tight sleeveless dress, and funnels held in both hands. I was a bit uncomfortable that the name was a parody of Lady Haman’s. I’d been worried that it would make me mad, but from the hairstyle it seemed like an original character, and even if it is a homage I can accept it as a children’s toy. I understand that the people need some sort of diversion from the battles. However, if they just play all the time like Nine, that is a problem.

“Even so, Nine, aren’t these a bit too many toys? It’s like a preschool playground in here.”

Looking at the many toys floating in the water, Eleven spoke her exasperation.

“You can play too ya know, Eleven? I’ll lend you any toys you’d like.”

“That’s not what I’m asking. Please put them away.”

“I always put them away~”

“Please stop throwing them!”

As Nine threw toys at Eleven, the glass door suddenly squeaked open. The three turned their necks in surprise, and the fifth sister, Puru5, leapt in.

“Hehe! A bath after training is the best!”

Five plomped down on a chair and began scrubbing her body with a body brush.

“I threw Ten at least thirty times today, so I’m exhausted.”

Five was talking about her martial arts training. Even though we’re pilots, we’re obligated to toughen our bodies and learn to defend ourselves.

“Five. You’re escorting Lady Haman tomorrow, aren’t you?”

Avoiding Nine’s mischief, Eleven moved to the other end of the bathtub to talk with Five.

“Nn? That’s right, Eleven.”

“From what I hear, she’s got a conference with Side 6’s Colony Bank or something?”

“I hear it’s some sort of investigation. I’m not sure. But it’s stressful. Lady Haman is scary, and I can’t screw up.”

I couldn’t see any of those worries on her face as she responded. I could see her ‘important places’ though, them not being covered by the towel.

“It might be best if you don’t talk to Lady Haman very much, Five. There’s enough rumors about us Royal Guards already.”

“Oi, Eleven. What do you mean by that?!”

After pouring hot water over herself to wash off the soap, Five dove into the bathtub with a splash.

“Big Sis! Please don’t jump in the tub!”

“Nah! Let’s enjoy the bath!”

Five was in the middle of the bathtub now, paddling her feet, swimming around, and relaxing. Her hair is super-short, and her body is tanned and muscular. She’s the most active and uninhibited of my sisters.

“Yo, Nine. Isn’t this fun as ever?”

“Yeah, it is. Hanyaan’s having fun too.”

Nine put the Hanyaan doll on top of her head so Five could see.

“That character is definitely Haman. Could I take that to my mission to show her?”

“We were just talking about that; it’s better not to speak with her.”

Eleven shrugged her shoulders in exasperation.

“Like Eleven said. Don’t be careless around Haman; when you’re in her presence you need to think through everything you do.”

I cautioned her like a little kid. Maybe it’s overbearing, but I’m a parental substitute for my little sisters.

“Gotcha! Aren’t you doing Princess’s pilot training? Are you sure you can remodel the Qubeley in time?”

“I’m not remodeling it, I’m just making repairs. With Eleven helping I’ve been doing fine, it’ll be ready in time. Now this is a secret to Lady Haman, so don’t go running your mouth to her about it.”

“It’ll be fine! The truth is you worry too much, Four.”

“And you’re too optimistic.”

“With that personality, how is it you can’t get a boyfriend?”

“Wha, what did you say! I don’t have any interest in that sort of thing! Stop thinking about soft things and concentrate on your duties!”

“Hahaha, then! I can help you with that!”

Five leapt out of the bathtub and left the room at a run.

“Five’s sure quick to leave. Isn’t this sort of thing called a “crow’s bath”? Look, a crow.”

Nine laughed and made a bird shape with her hands.

“She can’t help it, that Five!”

“Five is too straight. For anything, really.”

“She really is simple.”

They certainly don’t have a care in this world. As an admitted worrywart, it does make me envious. What genes were expressed during the cloning process to make her so laid-back?

At any rate, it might be because I can’t get a boyfriend that I’m snappy towards her. Love is unnecessary for us Royal Guards. For the sake of our duties, our private lives must be regulated. In spite of all that, Five is dating a mechanic boy. My little sisters don’t care about discipline or self-control, but an older sister has to make an example for them, and it’s usually up to either myself or Three.

It’s a bit unfair. As I fiddled with a duck toy, I found an anger rising within me.

I want to play with a boy myself, but just about all the guys I know are pilot cadets from my training class, and the only thing that comes out of any of their mouths is talk about mobile suits. They’re disappointingly childish and all they want to do is pilot. But I think by now they’ve taken up posts in combat units. It might not be bad to meet some of them again and talk about what it’s like.

“Puru4. What are you going to do?”

“Eh?! What am I going to do? I’m not in any sort of rush for anyone!”

I was concerned that Eleven might have read my mind.

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m talking about the princess’s pilot training.”

“Ah, aah, the princess’s…”

“Is big sis worried?”

“Worried about what?”

“Thinking about how Puru2’s been guiding all of us this whole time. And now the princess too. I wish I could say something.”

“She’s taught us well. But she’s a bit scary.”

“That’s right. She was good at first, but hasn’t she been growing more impatient recently?”

Puru2 is definitely kind at heart, but she has a hot temper. When she’s training us and we repeat the same mistakes, that’s enough for her to immediately go into a bad mood and start mercilessly scolding us.

“I know how you feel about working with Puru2. But if you’re worried, I’ll back you up.”

“Eh? I’m also going to be participating in the princess’s training?”

“Of course you are?”

(Have I said too much…)

I felt like I was hearing my little sister’s inner voice.

“Are you thinking about something?”

“Nuh, not at all. I’m not thinking at all.”

“Liar!”

“Ah! Big sis, please stop!”

As I tickled her breasts, Eleven protested in a voice not at all suited for her age.

But, sometimes I need some skinship with my sisters. The bath is the best place to do that. And as the older sister, it’s my responsibility to monitor my younger sisters’ development. That’s why I always mess with Eleven in the bath.

“…”

As I felt my little sister’s breasts, it bothered me that she had hardly any bulge at all. She’s flat as a board, you see. I realize that I’m bigger than her, but do we really have the same genes?

“My sister, what are you staring at my chest for? I know what you’re thinking.”

“Eh! I, I wasn’t thinking anything.”

“If us cyber-newtypes can in fact read minds, I highly doubt staring at breasts is how it’s done.”

“I can’t read your mind at all! I was just thinking about how little they are!”

“Rude! They’ll get bigger.”

“I want to touch Eleven’s boobs too!”

Nine tried to hug Eleven.

“Quit being idiots, the both of you!”

Eleven pouted and plunged beneath the water surface.  


Puru9 Draft Design


	5. The Princess's Mobile Suit

Three days after getting her Highness Mineva Zabi’s secret orders, I took my big sister Puru2 and my little sister Eleven to the hangar.

Yes, we were finally starting the Princess’s pilot training. Since Lady Haman was busy on Side 6, this week was the perfect time to train the Princess.

“Puru2 my sister, the Princess’s Qubeley has been safely assembled.”

“Good! I’m sure Princess Mineva will be pleased too.”

“Yes. I thought the exterior would be too plain for a princess of the Zabi line, so I renovated it to make it more suitable.”

“Oho, that’s great. …Oh, my!”

Puru2 shouted in admiration as she reached the hangar.

Flanked on both sides by the Royal Guards’ mobile suits, a customized Qubeley sat ensconced in the middle of the hangar.

“It enthralls the heart, like the spirit of Zeon taken a form of steel. Big sis Puru4, you did a good job.”

Eleven poetically praised my workmanship on the fuselage. With Puru2 nodding in agreement with her words, I unconsciously smiled in satisfaction.

(Success, at least for now.)

I had hurriedly put together the Qubeley which had gone to pieces, and customized it for exclusive Zabi use to boot. I’d coated it with many layers of deep green paint, the Zabi’s color. I’d also inlaid the new paint job with the Zabi’s coat of arms and fancy engravings up and down the whole body. Naturally, the engravings were handwritten. Furthermore, I had installed a gorgeous horn to strengthen its communications abilities as the command unit it would be.

“Well done Puru4; this looks perfect.”

“Thank you very much, Puru2 my sister!”

Joy filled my heart. All of the nights I spent working were worth it to receive my big sister’s praise. Not to mention, this machine would raise the Royal Guard’s prestige.

Even so, an unease still gripped at my heart. Because in order to repair this Qubeley, I procured a substantial number of parts from my older sister’s. So, as an emergency measure to keep her from finding out, I replaced her Qubeley’s head and left arm with a Gallus-J’s. The face looks similar enough, at least from a distance. I hope. At least Puru2 would be aboard an MP-Qubeley for this exam, so after the Princess’s training is done I could put things back as they should have been.

To be safe I hid it with a sheet and put it in the back, but I would be in big trouble if I were found out….

“Puru4!”

“Ye, yes! What is it, Puru2 my sister?”

Oh no, did she find it?

“Stop dazing off into space! Mineva is here!”

“Suh, Sorry!”

The three of us bowed to her highness Mineva as she walked in.

“Good work, everyone. Sorry.”

She looked the very picture of nobility, as expected from the princess of Neo-Zeon.

“Princess Mineva, those clothes…”

The princess wore a custom normal suit quite different from those of the common soldiers. She was clearly enthusiastic about this training.

“This? I had this normal suit made for my personal use. I heard that Zeon traditionally allows you to wear your favorite clothes. Like Char, is that a good example? He always wore a mask.”

Captain Char Aznable famously wore a mask during the one year war. However, I don’t think what Char might have done is necessarily a good precedent for the Princess. Wearing a strange mask in public does not show good taste. Nonetheless, I understand that decorations showing the princess’s dignity are necessary for propaganda and fashion, and fortunately the princess’s normal suit is not a bad design.

“Your normal suit is great; it goes perfectly with the princess Qubeley.”

“It is. I’m glad you think so.”

Mineva smiled sweetly at Puru2’s praise.

“Well then, I’ll explain about the “Qubeley Custom” that has been repaired into a princess-use unit.”

I pulled up the presentation file I’d made on the computer pad.

I took a deep breath to relieve the tension.

“Question, did you make this?”

“Yes. We modified the exterior into something worthy of a princess, and also improved the controls to make it easier to maneuver.”

“Amazing!”

“Ah, thank you very much. It’s an honor, Princess.”

The princess’s direct praise hit like a bullet. I was so moved, my face turned pale and I forgot to continue my explanation.

“…”

“What happened to Puru4? Go on.”

“Ah, yes! Eh, uh, the specific points of repair….”

I took a deep breath again. I had to clear my mind.

“First, I disconnected the controls from the Psycommu and installed a normal operating system. Originally the psycommu was necessary for operating the Qubeley; not even a finger would move if the psycommu wasn’t active.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know that.”

“Yes. Since it’s a dedicated newtype machine, the flight control system is special. Now, since the psycommu has been excised, the reaction speed has dropped, but the handling has become more mild, for an amateur… Sorry! For a pilot who hasn’t gotten used to it yet, it has become easier to control. What gave me a hard time was how to adapt the normal operating system to the Qubeley. I started by analyzing the hardware, with Eleven’s help. Then, we adjusted over 20 million lines of source code. What that means in English is that we…”

“We get it, Puru4. Anyway, Mineva can control it now?”

My big sister rounded off my tangent as it strayed into technical matters. I regretted having spoken so much.

“Ye, yes. Exactly.”

“Are there any more problems from cutting off the psycommu?”

“There are. The funnels are no longer usable.”

“What?! No funnels?”

At my explanation, the princess suddenly turned on me.

“I’m sorry, princess. The funnels can only be controlled with psycommu. Without it…”

“No no no! I want funnels!”

The princess threw a fit.

I was baffled at how quickly she changed from dignified to childish.

“Make it have funnels!”

The princess waved both arms and commanded. As a servant of Neo Zeon, I could not refuse.

“Do something, Puru4!”

Rapidly losing patience, my big sister drew close to my face and whispered.

“Uh, if you say so….”

“You just need to get the funnels to move.”

“But the princess’s newtype abilities are unknown.”

“Think outside the box. Couldn’t you program them to run automatically or something? You’re good at that, right?”

“Got it. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll operate the psycommu from the side seat and modify it to secretly control the funnels. I was already going to ride with the princess for safety purposes, after all.”

“Sorry.”

“Ice cream is on big sis now.”

I gave a thumbs-up, and my big sister nodded in assent.

“Princess Mineva! It’s OK. My little sister Puru4 is fixing it. When you say “Funnel,” the funnels will fly.”

“Really?! I want to use the funnels so much. Like Haman!”

The princess was in a better mood. She mimed the funnels with both hands.

“How will this work? It’s a farce.”

Eleven shrugged, dumbfounded.

“What are you saying? You should support me so we can do this right, Eleven.”  
“I know, Puru4 my sister. Nonetheless, Puru2 is unusually patient with this.”

“She’s loyal to the mission.”

“Hmmm… that’s what’s giving me trouble.”

In the spoilt atmosphere, the princess’s frolicking echoed through the hangar conspicuously.

* * *

“Princess Mineva, this is the end of the briefing.”

Puru2 declared the lecture to be over. The princess will finally board her mobile suit. This was an honorable duty as a royal guard, but with the princess’s piloting ability completely unknown, we had no idea what to expect, even with our newtype abilities.

“Finally, I can pilot the Qubeley. It can’t be that different from the simulations, right?”

Mineva’s heart was jumping in excitement as she spoke.

“As you say, Mineva. In a simulation you can learn the controls and protocols, but you can’t feel the acceleration or deceleration, or develop real spatial awareness. That’s a crucial difference. You’ll need some time to get used to it.”

“Is that so? Then how long will it take to get used to it?”

“It depends on the person but… If nothing goes wrong, maybe three flights.”

“In that case, I’ll start training right away! We’ll go three times today!”

Observing Mineva’s enthusiasm, Puru4 and Eleven huddled close and started whispering.

“Can she really get used to piloting with only three flights, Puru4? It certainly took longer for me to become proficient.”

“Same for me, Eleven. Big sis is being too optimistic. Although if you think about it, if she was honest the Princess would definitely be unhappy about it. She’d ask if we can’t hurry it up. That is….”

“Ah, I understand. So big sister Puru2 is trying to get the Princess to give up piloting?”

“I think so….”

As the two talked, the Princess went down the catwalk to the Qubeley’s cockpit.

“Puru4! Quit dawdling! Go help Mineva!”

“Yes, I get it!”

My big sister could be such a pain. I kicked off the floor and flew towards the Qubeley. Since the hangar was a zero-G block, you had to be careful when flying. Otherwise, you could give yourself a bad momentum and hit your head on the ceiling.

“Eleven! Prepare your own unit for departure!”

“Understood, Puru2.”

Eleven headed to her MP-Qubeley. She would follow behind the Princess's Qubeley, and monitor the unit.

I flew towards the Qubeley’s cockpit, grabbed the chest armor to reduce my momentum, and landed on the ramp where the Princess was waiting.

“Puru4, present.”

“Um, thank you. Open this door at once.”

“Got it. It’s not safe, so please stand back.”

As the princess stepped back, I opened a small panel on the outside of the chest armor and pressed the red button within. A few seconds later, the large plate that was the chest armor sprang up and revealed the shape of the cockpit hatch.

You always have to be careful around moving armor. Even some mechanics that approached carelessly and got hit have received terrible injuries. Obviously, getting the princess hurt would be a severe crime worthy of ten thousand deaths. It went without saying that I would get a severe punishment. Like being chained and whipped….

I shook off my terrifying imaginations. Watching after little kids was mentally exhausting. It was so unfair for Puru2 to foist the princess on me.

“Really, big sis….”

“Mm? What?”

“No! Nothing at all! Come, please come in now.”

“Got it.”

Curious, the princess bounded forward.

“Don’t you think this entrance is a bit narrow? How do you get through it every day? It should be bigger.”

“Princess, it’s a question of strength. You can’t just go making great big holes in suits.”

My cheeks slackened as I finally got to give my honest opinion. The princess listened, still curious.

“Tell me why.”

“Because then the suit would become weak to external forces. Especially the Qubeley, since its armor doubles as its structural frame.”

“??”

“Currently, most mobile suits have a structure like a skeleton covered in armor. But the Qubeley is more like an insect wrapped in a strong shell.”

“Is that so?

“So, if a hole is opened in the shell, it becomes weak. Is it like when I built a house out of clay, only to have it collapse when I put a big window in?

“Ah, then I understand. Puru4, you’re a good explainer.”  
“Thank you very much. I appreciate the compliment.”

Princess Mineva may have a surprising talent in engineering. I was greatly impressed by the princess's insight.

“Princess, I had this linear seat made specially for you. It should fit you tightly.”

Three days ago, I had a resin mold made of the princess’s figure, and then made a seat from that mold. Since Her Highness is only nine, she’s thin and delicate, so I had to go to the trouble of creating a special seat to hold her body firmly. Also, the base for the seat isn’t the standard type, but the newly developed linear seat made for the NZ-000 Queen Mansa. The psycommu is disabled, of course.

“It does! We can start right away!”

The princess bounced on the seat to check.

“I’ll sit in the side seat and control the systems. That way, you can focus on piloting. Of course, I’ll take over the controls in an emergency.”

“So it’s completely safe.”

“Now, please make the pre-flight checks as I say. They’re the same as the simulator.”

“Alright. All I have to do is move the arms and legs. Like this?”

“Ah? Not that!”

Mineva jerked the control stick, and the Qubeley’s arm suddenly rose. The hangar filled with the shrieking of mechanics.

“That’s still out of order! Who’s the idiot in that mobile suit! Amateur!”

A barrage of unreserved anger came from the mechanics. Whether it’s the royal guards or not, there’s no room for foolish mistakes. Mistakes frequently lead to death in space.

“Excuse me, Princess!”

I grabbed the control stick away from the princess and put it in neutral, and the suit stopped moving after half-destroying a catwalk.

“Hmm, it stopped….”

“Puru4! What are you doing! I told you to support Mineva!”

“I’m sorry!”

I quickly apologized as my big sis reprimanded me.

Ah, I wonder what she’ll say later. Puru2 is severe about mistakes. I’m worried about what she said earlier. To get Princess Mineva to give up piloting, it would probably be better to just give her to Haman for a scolding.

I sighed as I redid the system check.


	6. Begin! Qubeley Maneuver Training

**Puru-Four**

Flying a mobile suit in space, where there is no concept of up and down or even an objective reference point, is extremely difficult. The best and quickest way to learn the art of not crashing and dying horribly in the pitch-black soundless void is to fly with someone who knows what they’re doing.

In light of that logic, our three Qubeleys were sticking to a formation. My big sister Puru2 took point with her Mass-Production Qubeley, the Princess and myself flew in the middle with her own personal Qubeley, and Eleven brought up the rear with her own MP Qubeley.

“Princess Mineva, please slow down.”

“I, I heard you the first time!”

As Puru2 set out a course, the princess tried to trace her path with repeated straight thrusts. Her maneuvers were rough; to put it bluntly, they were a waste of perfectly good fuel.

“Princess. Smooth flight requires delicate manipulation of the control stick and throttle. Please treat them more gently.”

“But it’s hard….”

The princess jerked the control stick and throttle around like they were trying to break free, putting her back and many strained grunts into every move. It couldn’t really be helped; a beginner can’t know how much they have to move the stick to produce the desired movements in their mobile suit. All pilots went through this phase.

Nevertheless, the aircraft was shaking quite a bit, and the hastily-installed folding side seat was not at all adequate.

With all the shaking, I was becoming sick. I wanted to throw up.

(Ugh, my head...)

Now my head started to ache like someone had stowed an axe inside, but the need to throw up still dominated me.

Even as I suffered the princess’s piloting, I couldn’t help but awe at my big sister’s. Although her normal machine may have been similar, she was still moving her new suit with the agility of a veteran of many years. She made one hairpin-sharp maneuver after another, blowing her vernier thrusters like a delicate flautist even as, to control her attitude and center of gravity, she moved her arms and legs with a black belt’s single-minded coordination. That sort of maneuvering (Automatic Mass Balance Auto-Control, or AMBAC for short) is, as the name implies, generally performed by the mobile suit’s computer, but some great pilots do dare to turn off these programs and handle their machines manually.

But please, don’t expect me to do that….

* * *

** Puru-Eleven **

“Troubling. That, that’s no good at all.”

I observed the princess’s piloting from behind. If I was grading, I would have failed the princess a while ago.

Of course, it was her first time, and it would be unreasonable to expect much. For an amateur, she was indeed doing rather well. However, if a pilot couldn’t control manually control the mobile suit, then no matter how much computer support they could get, they wouldn’t be able to freely control their machine.

Nevertheless, with that rough maneuvering, the shaking inside the Qubeley must have been immense. Puru2’s was going a bit too fast herself, but were the princess and Puru4 even OK?

Beset by something like worry, I called the Qubeley.

“Princess, Puru4. Your unit looks like it’s shaking a bit. Is there a problem?”

No reply.

“Princess? Puru4?”

No choice.

I overrode the communication protocol and forced the computer to open my communication on its monitor. As I did so, footage of Mineva frantically piloting, and of my sister clutching her head to her breast in pain, projected itself onto my screen.

“Big sister?! Puru4, are you alright? Please answer me!”

She was probably sick from the terrible shaking.

“Princess, slow down a little! Please, stabilize the suit!”

In the monitor screen, I saw my sister remove her helmet. Her face was pale, drenched with sweat and dripping. The princess then finally noticed the passenger's abnormality, it seemed.

“What's the matter, Puru4?”

“…Sorry, I’m not feeling well.”

“That's terrible! What am I supposed to do then?!”

“Please, don't worry about me…”

Despite her words, my big sister looked like she was in considerable pain, her face contorting around a quivering mouth as it opened and closed on rough, ragged breaths.

“What’s going on? Puru4, report the situation!”

A transmission with the air of a scolding came in from Puru2.

“Puru2, we have trouble! Puru4 is feeling unwell. I believe her unit’s shaking has sickened her.”

I substituted for my down-and-out sister.

“What a pity! Tell her to be patient. We have a flight schedule to keep.”

Puru2 decided without hesitation. And a part of me agreed with her. Today's flight route, after departing from Axis, would go through Core 3, then the mining asteroid Cicero, and then return to Axis again. With such a long route, we didn’t have a surplus of time.

“Can't we delay the ETA to Axis a bit?”

“With Mineva on board, we wouldn’t be allowed to without a very good reason.”

"Roger. I'll provide support.”

I pressed my machine on to the Princess Qubeley’s right side, taking its right hand in my unit’s left. In other words, I connected the two machines. With the added weight of my machine our combined units’ movements would be more mild, and to a degree I could even control both of us from my side.

“Princess, please let us fly together. We will have more fun this way.”

I spoke calmly to the princess, who was starting to panic a little.

“Did you just grab my Qubeley’s hand?!”

“Yes, I did. Please fly with me like this. I’ll suppress the shaking.”

“Thanks for helping. But, mobile suits flying while holding hands looks so silly!”

“You will enjoy it.”

Like that, it became much easier for the Princess to trace Puru2’s trail. I corrected all of Mineva’s oversteering by pulling her in the opposite direction, and kept her on the right course. Our Cyber-Newtype predictive abilities do come quite in handy sometimes.

* * *

** Puru-Four **

Eventually the shaking stopped, and I began to feel a lot better.

“Eleven, you saved me…”

“Don’t you owe me one now, Puru4, my sister?”

I’ll have to treat Eleven to a meal after training, I thought.

“Princess, thank you for worrying…”

“Flying in space is so much fun! I had no idea. If I could, I'd fly all the way to Earth!”

(Is she… happy?)

After taking another look at her wide smile and her bright eyes myself, I came to believe it myself. I then felt truly glad that I had repaired the Qubeley for her; the sickness and funk cleared straight away from my heart.

“We can go even faster!”

It was like she’d broken out of shackles. Conducting yourself as a princess must be more pressure than I’d ever imagined. Being chosen to carry a burden at such a young age would be bad enough, although having power would at least make up for it. But in reality, Her Excellency Lady Haman controls everything, and the princess has no real authority whatsoever. It must be stressful for such an intelligent girl. My sisters and I are not much older than the princess, but we have been granted a certain amount of responsibility and authority. She lives her life a doormat to events, waited on by strangers. Perhaps what the princess wanted in piloting a mobile suit was to flap her wings freely and escape such circumstances, even if only for a moment.

I guess I touched the princess’s heart a little.

“That was quite some piloting, Mineva. I am much impressed. That's all for today. We shall now return.”

The ETA approaching, Puru2 told the princess to return.

“I see… too bad.”

“Tomorrow, the real training begins. It will be much more intense.”

“All right. Beginning return sequence.”

Princess Mineva decelerated her machine, and turned her course back at Axis.

“Puru4, are you feeling better? I'm sorry. I'm still so inexperienced….

The Princess sounded truly sorry.

“Far from it, Princess. It’s my fault for not training myself well enough. I'm really surprised at how much you've improved, Princess. You have the sense of a pilot, and a good grasp of space too.”

That was my true opinion. Sensing that I wasn’t being sycophantic at all, the princess gave me a broad smile.

“I'm glad to hear you say that. I wish this were a game. Can I fly more with you guys?”

“Princess…”

“When this war is over, I want you to fly with me a lot.”

I looked deep into her eyes. “I promise you, I certainly will.”


End file.
